Who is going to be the next POTUS?

It’s the question of the week – who is going to be the next POTUS? POTUS, for the uninitiated, is the code name used for the US president by the secret service agents in countless spy thrillers. It stands for the President Of The United States!

I wish I could be like that feisty old lady on the street of Jeruslem who, when asked the same question, told the CNN correspondant - “I don’t care”! :-) But we have all seen a demonstration of how “when Uncle Sam sneezes the rest of the world catches cold”. As long as that holds true, I am afraid the rest of us have to care.

I agree that Obama has drawn attention to a number of important issues which have been absent from McCain’s campaign. But politicians are known for paying a lip service to a lot of issues. They conveniently forget the promises they made during the campaigns once they make it to the office. Moreover, whoever gets elected as the next US president has the Herculean task of cleaning up the “Augean Stables” left by George Bush as a legacy! How much time can be devoted to these other “important” issues?

Then there is the “experience” factor. A lot of hue and cry was made that Hillary was projecting her husband’s White House experience as her own. But at least she would have had some knowledge of how things work. McCain has a number of years as a Senator under his belt. Obama, on the other hand, doesn’t have too much to boast about on this front.

Of course there is no denying that McCain has the same trigger-happy look as George Bush. And after 8 years’ of Bush, electing McCain does seem like “starting where you left off”. Not a happy thought!

There is another worrisome angle to this whole saga. Maybe Biden is capable of handling the affairs of his country if Obama gets elected to the White House and is assasinated but the assasination of the US president is an event that the US and the rest of the world can ill-afford at this point. McCain is 70+ and if his health fails him while in the White House I shudder to think of Sarah Palin taking over from him.

So it’s a tough choice for the American voters. For the rest of us it’s wait and watch!